


Rooftop Rendezvous

by Argficauthor



Category: Tungsten (Alternate Reality Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-03 22:22:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14578887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Argficauthor/pseuds/Argficauthor
Summary: Danse and Debra have their investigation cut short, and the adrenaline gets the best of them.





	1. Chapter 1

The edge of Danse's well-tailored suit cuff made a thin line in the dust on the bookshelf as he picjed up a suspicious-looking vial and turned it over in his gloved hands, watching how the viscous red liquid within caught the sliver of moonlight coming through the blinds. He and Debra had crept into the office just a short time ago, through that very same window, in search of clues that might lead them to catching the infamous Lady Luck Killer who had been plaguing their city. Their list of suspects wasn't long, but the logistics of the investigation were complicated. Luckily for Danse, his partner was incredible.

"Danse," she said, calling to him in a whisper that still managed to carry across the office to him, "come look at this."

Whatever it was she had found, he wasn't meant to find out yet. Just as he moved to join her at the desk on the far side of the cluttered little office, they heard the door to the stairwell at the end of the hall open with a creak, and then close behind whoever had just joined them on their floor in the dead of night. Both would-be vigilantes froze, their eyes flicking first to one-another, and then to the door as they heard the distinctive sound of approaching footfalls on tile.

Their brief moment of hope that the "intruder" (as though they were not, themselves) would stop somewhere before them quickly faded, and they had to make a decision. They locked eyes for only the briefest moment, and each of them knew what they were to do. The document Debra had held in her hands was swiftly, silently tucked inside her jacket, just as the corked vial Danse held went into his pocket, and both of them made an expeditious retreat to the window.

Deb went first, the low heels of her sensible boots clanking softly on the fire escape platform as she made room for her partner. Had they been a few seconds faster, they might have gotten away clean, leaving their pursuer simply confused as to why his window was open on such a chilly spring night. Alas, Danse was only half-out of the window when the door to the office was opened.

Both the trespassers jumped at the sound of the door latch, and Deb turned to pull Danse the rest of the way through. The owner of the office called out a disgruntled "Hey!" to the sight of Danse's leg disappearing behind the curtains. No time left for caution, their footsteps rang out through the alleyway as they rushed up the fire escape stairs, to the roof.


	2. Chapter 2

"Fuck- Get back here!"

Danse and Debra flew up the stairs two at a time, conscious to keep hold of the spoils of their night's work as they ran. They could hear the labored breathing of their pursuer as he chased them up the several flights of stairs. Looking down, Danse could catch glimpses of their target through the gaps between the steps. He did it only to gauge how much of a lead they had on him, but was glad he was keeping tabs when he saw a telltale flash of silver in the moonlight darkness.

"Deb, hurry," he panted, urging her to move ever-faster with a hand placed on her upper arm, "he's got a gun."

He could see the alarm in her eyes when she glanced at him. The speed at which they ran whipped her hair around her face, and she nervously bit her lower lip as she nodded, adrenaline pushing her faster up the stairs.

After what felt like an age, though it was likely less than two minutes, they reached the final landing. Danse smoithly slipped an arm around Deb's waist, lifting her over the lip of the roof, then following her over. Both of them were exhausted already, their breath coming in ragged gasps and their pulses pounding in their ears, but there was no time to stop and rest. They both could hear the approaching footsteps clanging their way up the fire escape behind them.

"Danse, what do we do now?"

"Deb, I'm gonna need you to trust me. Okay?"

She looked at him for a long moment, and then past him to the stairs leading back below. She met his eyes, her own full of fierce determination, and nodded.

He strode confidently to her, took her hand, and turned her toward the east side of the building. Another roof lay a few short feet away, with a drop of many long feet waiting below if they fucked this up.

"On my mark, okay? Three..."

The sound of shoes on metal grates grew louder behind them.

"Two..."

Panting breaths and the sliding of feet that have realized, to their owner's surprise, that there are no more stairs to climb.

"One..."

The sound of someone scrabbling over concrete. Shoes meeting the rough tarpaper covering of the roof.

"Go!"

They sprinted forward as a single unit, hand in hand. Long strides in perfect unison brought them to the edge of the roof, gained the leverage of bootheels against the corner of the knee-high concrete barrier. They sailed over the gap just as the edge of the roof they'd just launched from exploded into chips of stone under the force of a bullet. Their hearts pounding in their ears, the vigilante duo didn't even hear the shot.

They landed, the very model of grace, safely on the other side, and all but flew down the other fire escape on the far side of the building, as their target cursed their names and seven generations of their children behind them.


End file.
